Journal Of A Dakota Wanderer
by VaultBoy9193
Summary: Leonard Oswald has been exiled from Vault 27 after finding out the Vault's intentions. All he has is his Vault 27 jumpsuit, a picture of his parents, and a new journal he has found. The rest is to be told in his journal entries.
1. February 13th, 2124

2/13/24

My name is Leonard Oswald. I am 22 years old and I have been exiled from Vault 27. All I have is the uniform I left with, and a picture of my parents. This is my story and my travels through the ruins that lie ahead.

When I was a child, living in the Vault was fun. There were many other children to play with and food, at the time, was not scarce. But as time went on, our rations dwindled and many of us began to starve. It became incredibly crowded as more and more people reproduced. It was crowded already, but not like this. Only families were allowed rooms now, and multiple families were forced into the same room. Their children and people like me, who are single, were assigned to sleep in the recreational areas of the Vault. When The Overseer announced that anyone over 18 would only be allowed 1 meal a day, I became furious. I looked into the history of the Vault, and discovered that the government assigned 2,000 people to this Vault. Far too many for any extended period of time. There was also never a scheduled release date. They simply just wanted to see how long this many people would survive in a Vault. It sickened me that they would do this to us. So I took it up with The Overseer. After a heated debate, I attacked him and began to strangle him. Guards rushed in and pulled me off. The last thing I heard him say, was to throw me out to the wastes. That's when they drug me to a room I had never been in before, pressed a few buttons on a control panel and the loudest shrieking sound came from a giant steel door with the number 27 on it. They pushed me to the other side and held me at gun point until the door closed. I did not get a chance to say goodbye to my parents or sister. I couldn't grab another change of clothes or my old journal either. Now I am on my own. I have managed to find out that I am in what they call, Dakota. It was on half of a sign just outside of the Vault entrance. I have also found a small abandoned cottage in the forest by a creek, not far from the cave I emerged from. The outside is much brighter than I could have possibly imagined, and the air is much thicker than inside the Vault. But I will learn to live with it, as it is my new life. There is no going back now. But I feel that I am lucky because life is dwindling inside Vault 27. Tomorrow I am going to venture out further in hopes of finding people. I do not know what lies outside of this area, but I need to do something. The only thing in this cottage is a footlocker underneath the bed. It contained this journal with the letters BLK carved into the binding, some bottles of water that taste awful, and a box of chips that are bland and stale. I am going to try and sleep now. At least there is a mattress, it is far more comfy than the floor in the Vault.


	2. February 14th, 2124

2/14/24

Today started off terrifying. I left the cottage and walked about a hundred yards before encountering a large, pink, hideous looking creature with brown buckteeth. It must have smelled me coming because it stopped digging when I saw it, sniffed the air, and started running right at me. I braced myself, then kicked it right in the nose as it got close. It yelped with a snarled tone then ran the other direction. I imagine it is not the worst creature I will come across out here, but it is more or less just disgusting looking than anything. I found my way onto a road eventually and followed it for about an hour until I came across a trader. He had a two headed cow with him that he called a "Pack Brahmin". The utter was grotesque as it almost dragged on the ground. And the fact it had two heads gave me the chills and made me gag. The world out here is disturbing and it has not even been 24 hours yet. I am afraid to find out what nature has done to the other animals out here, but I am sure I will find out soon enough. The trader, however, was very nice. He knew I had come from a Vault and said he could help get me started out here in the wastes. He gave me a new outfit, a pair of heavy duty boots, cargo pants and a plain white shirt. A little dirty, but I think I am never going to have fresh clean clothes again. He also gave me a gun. A small 9mm pistol and about 50 rounds of ammo. He also taught me how to fire it. I have never handled a gun before, it was nice feeling the power behind it. But I can't just go firing it when I am bored. He also gave me a few stimpacks and some rad-away. Apparently there are not many spots that are irradiated anymore, but it is good to have anyway. When we were done, he pointed me in the direction of a town known as Mulch Point, where I would find a diner and a hotel. Along the way, I saw something off the road a ways. I wandered towards it, and found out it was a body. His stomach had been torn open and it was cleaned out inside. I cannot imagine what, or who, did this to the poor guy, but it made me vomit. The pisser about it was that I had nothing in my own stomach, just stomach acid. It burned terribly and I was forced to drink one of those foul tasting waters again. However, he had a backpack on him. I took it off of him, knowing he wouldn't need it anymore, and looked inside. A few bottles of that damn water, and a box of shotgun shells. I couldn't find a gun in the area so it was probably a person that did this. How someone could do such a gruesome thing is beyond me. I felt compelled to tell somebody quick, but I knew it would not matter at all. Which made me even more upset. So I kept moving forward. I got to the town, and found the diner. I talked to the owner, Lancaster, and managed to get a plate of meat and salad. In return I am going to hunt for him, after I finish up eating. I think I am going to like this town. The people seem nice and Lancaster said there are quite a few jobs around town I could help out with.

I think I have found my calling in life. Ever since I became a teenager, I have questioned what I was meant to do. I accepted the fact that we are born without a specific task. To grow into what we must do. Living in the Vault was not my way of life and I think deep down I knew that. I was just tricked into thinking there was no other option. Though the wasteland may be horrific at times, your only option is to make life in the wastes better for yourself. Which is what I am going to do. I am not going to stay in one spot. I am going to journey until I meet fate. There are so many things to do, and people to meet, I can't just stick around and find a routine task to complete day in and day out. Life outside the Vault is amazing.  
Today hunted Big Horners. Very large, fury beasts with curled horns. A lot like rams, but much larger and more muscular. I took down 3 of them, which was very good for a first timer according to Lancaster. He went out and showed me how to harvest the meat. Very bloody work, but it is the circle of life. When we got back to the diner, he also showed me how to cook the meat. It is very tasty. Much better than all the freeze dried shit we had in the Vault. While we were out, I found yet another corpse with the stomach slashed and cleaned out. Although this time, he had a gun on him still. A Sniper Rifle. I used it to take down the third Big Horner. It takes .308 caliber rounds and is very powerful. My arm is sore from just shooting it once. But it is yet another thing I am going to have to get used to out here. Another thing I will have to get used to is the currency. Bottle caps. The corpse had a little over 300 in his bag. It is silly to me, but it is really the only thing left in a major abundance that we can use. I was able to sweet talk this girl at the hotel for a free room. Her name is Jess. She is quite the looker, but she has a husband who helps out around here as well. But that is okay. Maybe eventually down the road I can meet someone that will even travel with me. That would be nice. Tomorrow I am planning to head out towards this very large trading town called Hydesdale. All the traveling caravans meet there every Thursday and swap stuff with the townspeople, and people like me who are passing through. Should be exciting. Then back here to help out with an ant problem.


End file.
